An evening spent outdoors, enjoying the tantalizing refreshment of well-chilled, crisp white wines, is a fantastic way to luxuriate in summer’s lingering heat and humidity. Dry whites from familiar grape varieties such as chardonnay, pinot grigio, riesling and sauvignon blanc can be great choices. Less familiar Spanish white wines, however, provide another excellent option not be overlooked. Spain’s leading white wine-producing regions, Rías Baixas (pronounced Ree-us By-shuss ) and Rueda, rely on more obscure, high-quality grape varieties such as albarino and verdejo. Large regional investments since 1990 vastly improved winemaking capacity in both areas, and better temperature-controlled transportation preserves the innate freshness of the wines during export to retail shelves in America and elsewhere. Rias Baixas, tucked away just above Portugal in Spain’s green northwestern region of Galicia, couples exposure to the Atlantic’s cooling maritime influence with unique granite soils to create the globe’s best terroir for growing Albariño. To combat insidious, rampant fungus in the damp climate, while also maximizing sun exposure, many small farmers still grow the grapes on traditional high pergolas. Today, scores of excellent mid-size wineries, as well as larger, well-equipped cooperatives, have emerged to increase production while maintaining quality. Stainless steel fermentation captures albarino’s aromas, which are reminiscent of viognier’s floral honeysuckle notes and riesling’s peaches, apricots and tropical fruits. In the mouth, the best albarino wines have the lushness and ripe fruitiness of peaches, pineapple and citrus. Excellent acidity and refined mineral notes create fine balance. Rías Baixas albariño sing simpatico with all manner of seafood, but their refreshing acidity and ample body are also pleasing partners with Iberian cured hams, Asian and Middle Eastern cuisines and even veal, another Galician delicacy. The 2005 Laxas Albariño, Rías Baixas (Specialty 26296, $12.99) comes from a family-owned estate perched in a gorgeous glen above the eguiling, ripe aromas of pineapple and citrus leading to ripe, fruity flavors of pineapple, peaches and citrus balanced by refreshing acidity and mouthwatering minerality through a lush, dry finish. Highly recommended. At Pazo de Señoráns, Marisol Bueno, the long-tenured president of the governing body of the Rías Baixas Denominación de Origen, helped to preserve the region’s cultural and grape-growing traditions by restoring the estate’s gracious historic country manor. The surrounding farm is a harmonious and eye-pleasing plan of vines trained on pergolas, a formal garden, a chapel, fruit orchards, a dovecote, cypress trees and a hórreos — a traditional elevated granary made from stone. The 2004 Pazo de Señoráns Albariño, Rías Baixas (Specialty 26695, $20.99) has aromas of apples, peaches and citrus opening to flavors of pineapple and citrus balanced by refreshing acidity and mouthwatering minerality through an elegant, dry finish. Recommended. Rueda is to the west of Portugal along the Duero River to the northwest of Madrid and southwest of the highly regarded Ribera del Duero red wine region. A very warm and somewhat improbable white wine-producing region, Rueda’s chalky soils provide a terroir highly conducive to growing quality native grapes such as the naturally fruity, yet refreshingly acidic verdejo. The well-known Rioja bodega, Marqués de Riscal, revolutionized regional production methods in the 1970s by introducing stainless steel fermentation to preserve the grapes’ remarkable innate freshness. Riscal also introduced sauvignon blanc to the region as a blending grape. The 2005 Marqués de Riscal Rueda, Spain (6371, on sale $7.99) blends verdejo (85 percent) and viura (15 percent), another local grape variety, to offer pleasant aromas of light citrus with herbal hints leading to crisp citrus and herbal flavors balanced with good acidity and cleansing minerality. Recommended. The 2004 Las Brisas Rueda, Spain (Specialty 26859, $10.99) is another blend of verdejo and other varieties offering pleasant citrus and tropical fruit aromas with light herbal hints opening to crisp flavors of grapefruit and herbal notes balanced by good acidity through a fruity, yet dry finish. Highly recommended. Red wine Portugal’s Douro area is well-known for its port wines, but the region also has emerged as an excellent source for robust red table wines. With grilled meats, try the 2004 Prazo de Roriz Douro, Portugal (Specialty 26253, $14.99), made from a traditional blend of primarily Tinta Roriz and Touriga Nacional and offering intense berry and plum aromas and flavors with spicy nuances wrapped in a ripe, fleshy body balanced by rich acidity and soft tannins. Recommended. Additional Information:

Wine Rack

To determine the availability of wines at PLCB stores near your home, go the PLCB?s Product Search Page ( www.lcb.state.pa.us ) and type in the wine name and then your county name.

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